Born in Louisville, Kentucky, artist, Michele Leavitt grew up in New York. Influenced by her roots in the needle arts and printing, she became fascinated with NY art scene. There works of Louise Nevelson, Marisol, and Jasper Johns made deep impressions. Leavitt studied art and design at Rochester Institute of Technology and later earned her MFA painting degree at Cornell University.

Mending, patching, and piecing; evidence of passing time and moving hands; artful creations from materials available, extending the life of these, inspire my work. My roots are in generations of quilters and printers, my education in the fine arts. My fabric and collage works evolve quite naturally from these influence.s

“Problem solving is at the core of my practice, as ideas arise, I explore my media for the best ways to express these. The whole work becomes a challenge both in technical and pictorial terms. My work evolves from the available materials, the technical challenges, and my love of experimentation. Materials include paint and canvas, paper and pencil, watercolor, and especially collage and textiles. I did study art academically while I never had sewing lessons, instead I’ve made up techniques according to pictorial needs. The works express my personal reflections on living here now.

The artist moved to RI when her late husband retired in 1991. She lives and works in Rhode Island. Her work is shown in RI, around the country, and abroad. Leavitt has earned awards including a RI Foundation grant of $15,000. Her work has also been published in a number of books regarding quilts and textiles.